The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2023–2024
Budweiser turns bar coasters into playable vinyls to launch nine Brazilian battle rappers
Budweiser pressed tracks by nine up-and-coming Brazilian battle rappers onto playable coasters and spread thousands through bars.
Budweiser Brazil (AB InBev)
What it had to solve
Beer coasters are usually a throwaway, but Budweiser saw the little discs as mini medallions with potential. With listening to old-school records back in fashion, the brand wanted something young Brazilian drinkers would want to hold onto — and a way to give nine lesser-known battle rappers huge exposure.
How it works
Beer coasters are usually a throwaway, but Budweiser saw potential in the little discs — mini medallions that could do more than sit under a glass. With the trend of playing old-school records on the rise, the brand looked for something its younger consumers would actually want to hold onto.
The answer was to make the coaster the record: playable mini vinyls featuring nine up-and-coming battle rappers from Brazil — Aori, Kamau, Stefanie, Estudante, Monna Brutal e MCharles, Negra Rê, Akira and Zudizilla. Thousands of the coasters were spread across bars in Brazil, inviting consumers to discover new talent and music.
Every drinker who played one met an artist they might never have heard, and the brand's most disposable object became a collectible. The project entered D&AD's awards archive as an example of using a bar staple to support emerging music.
Why it lands
- The medium is the message: instead of advertising to music fans, the coaster became the record and the bar became the listening room.
- Nine up-and-coming rappers gave the object a purpose beyond branding — every play was exposure for an artist who needed it.
- Riding the vinyl revival gave the coaster desire: something tied to old-school listening that young drinkers wanted to keep, not toss.
- Spreading thousands across bars put discovery where the audience already was, with no extra media buy.
What it did
Thousands of playable coasters put the nine rappers' music into bars across Brazil, giving lesser-known artists exposure with every spin while turning a disposable brand touchpoint into a collectible people wanted to keep; the work entered D&AD's awards archive.
What you can take
Make the touchpoint itself the medium: a coaster that plays music turns dead space on a bar table into a stage for new artists — and a throwaway into something kept.
Since then
The playable coasters gave nine largely unknown Brazilian rappers a physical presence in bars across the country, turning a disposable item into a collector's object and a discovery channel for new music. The work is held in D&AD's awards archive as a Budweiser case, a reference for turning a brand's everyday touchpoint into a functional product.
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